April 22
Events *1500 - Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. *1509 - Henry VIII ascends the throne of England after the death of his father. *1529 - Treaty of Saragossa divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues or 17° east of the Moluccas. *1836 - Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto forces under Texas General Sam Houston capture Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. *1863 - American Civil War: Grierson's Raid begins – troops under Union Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi. *1864 - The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act which mandates that the inscription "In God We Trust" be placed on all coins minted as United States currency. *1876 - The Boston Red Stockings defeat the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5 in the first National League Baseball game *1889 - At high noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Run of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000. *1898 - Spanish-American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports and the [[Wikipedia:USS Nashville (PG-7)|USS Nashville]] captures a Spanish merchant ship. *1912 - Pravda, the "voice" of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publications in Saint Petersburg. *1915 - The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres. *1930 - The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding. *1944 - World War II: Operation Persecution initiated – Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea. *1945 - World War II: After learning that Soviet forces have taken Eberswalde without a fight, Adolf Hitler admits defeat in his underground bunker and states that suicide is his only recourse. *1946 - The first installment of the popular Japanese comic strip, Sazae-san, is published in the Fukunichi Shimbun. *1954 - Red Scare: Army-McCarthy Hearings begin. *1964 - The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair opens for its first season. *1970 - First Earth Day celebrated. *1972 - Vietnam War: Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts antiwar protests in New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. *1983 - The German magazine, Der Stern claims that Adolf Hitler's diaries were found in a wreckage in East Germany. *1992 - 1992 explosion in Guadalajara, Mexico ; 206 people were killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 were left homeless *1993 - The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington is dedicated. * 1993 - The web browser Mosaic version 1.0 is released. *1997 - Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria; 93 villagers killed. * 1997 - A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, two soldiers are killed from rebel fire, and all 14 rebels are slain. *1998 - Disney's Animal Kingdom opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, United States. *2000 - In a predawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami. * 2000 - The Big Number Change takes place in the United Kingdom. *2004 - Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people. *2006 - 243 people were injured in pro-democracy protest in Nepal after Nepali security forces opened fire on protesters against King Gyanendra. * 2006 - Jalal Talabani sworn in for a second term as President of Iraq. * 2006 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War. Births *1451 - Queen Isabella of Castile and Leon (d. 1504) *1550 - Edward de Vere, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (d. 1604) *1610 - Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691) *1658 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (d. 1709) *1690 - John Carteret, English statesman (d. 1763) *1692 - James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (d. 1770) *1707 - Henry Fielding, English author (d. 1754) *1711 - Eleazar Wheelock, American founder of Dartmouth College (d. 1779) *1724 - Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (d. 1804) *1766 - Madame de Staël, French author (d. 1817) *1812 - Solomon Caesar Malan, British orientalist (d. 1894) *1816 - Charles Denis Bourbaki, French general *1832 - Julius Sterling Morton, Arbor Day founder (d. 1902 *1840 - Odilon Redon, French painter (d. 1916) *1844 - Lewis Thornton Powell, would-be assassin of Secretary of State William H. Seward (d. 1865) *1852 - Guillaume IV (d. 1912) *1854 - Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1943) *1860 - Ada Rehan, American stage actress (d. 1916) *1868 - Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (d. 1924) *1870 (N.S.) - Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (d. 1924) *1873 - Ellen Glasgow, American author (d. 1945) *1876 - Robert Bárány, American physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1936) * 1876 - Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (d. 1920) *1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician (d. 1970) *1884 - Otto Rank, Austrian psychologist (d. 1939) *1889 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer (d. 1945) *1891 - Harold Jeffreys, English astronomer (d. 1989) * 1891 - Nicola Sacco, American anarchist (d. 1927) * 1891 - Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (d. 1965) *1899 - Vladimir Nabokov, Russian writer (d. 1977) *1904 - Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist (d. 1967) *1905 - Robert Choquette, French Canadian novelist, poet and diplomat (d. 1991) *1906 - Eddie Albert, American actor (d. 2005) * 1906 - Prince Gustaf Adolf, second in line to the Swedish throne (d. 1946) *1907 - Ivan Efremov, Russian paleontologist and author (d. 1972) *1909 - Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist, Nobel laureate * 1909 - Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (d. 2001) *1910 - Norman Steenrod, American mathematician (d. 1971) *1912 - Kathleen Ferrier, British singer (d. 1953) *1914 - Jan de Hartog, Dutch writer (d. 2002) *1916 - Yehudi Menuhin, American-born violinist (d. 1999) *1918 - Mickey Vernon, baseball player *1919 - Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2001) *1922 - Charles Mingus, American musician (d. 1979) * 1922 - Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist (d. 1973) *1923 - Bettie Page, American model * 1923 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (d. 2006) *1925 - George Cole, British actor *1926 - Charlotte Rae, American actress * 1926 - James Stirling, British architect (d. 1992) *1927 - Laurel Aitken, Jamaican singer (d. 2005) *1935 - Paul Chambers, American jazz bassist (d. 1969) *1936 - Glen Campbell, American musician * 1936 - Pierre Hétu, French Canadian conductor and pianist (d. 1998) *1937 - Jack Nicholson, American actor * 1937 - Jack Nitzsche, American composer (d. 2000) *1939 - Jason Miller, American playwright (d. 2001) *1939 - Theodor Waigel, German politician and finance minister *1943 - Louise Glück, American poet and 12th US Poet Laureate *1944 - Steve Fossett, American adventurer *1946 - John Waters, American film writer * 1946 - Louise Harel, Quebec politician * 1946 - Nicole Garcia, French actress and director *1950 - Peter Frampton, English musician * 1950 - Zygi Wilf, owner of the Minnesota Vikings *1951 - Paul Carrack, English musician *1952 - Marilyn Chambers, American actress * 1952 - François Berléand, French actor *1953 - Juhani Komulainen, Finnish composer *1955 - Johnnie To, Hong Kong film director and producer *1958 - Ken Olandt, American actor *1959 - Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress * 1959 - Ryan Stiles, Canadian-born actor *1960 - Gary Rhodes, English chef *1962 - Jeff Minter, English video game programmer *1965 - Lauri Hendler, actress * 1965 - Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey player *1966 - Mariana Levy, Mexican actress (d. 2005) * 1966 - Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor *1967 - Sheryl Lee, American actress * 1967 - Harvey Williams, American football player *1968 - Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player *1969 - Dion Dublin, English footballer *1970 - Andrea Giani, Italian volleyball player * 1970 - Regine Velasquez, Filipino singer and actress *1971 - Daisuke Enomoto, first Japanese space tourist *1972 - Owen Finegan, Australian rugby union footballer *1973 - Ofer Talker, Israeli footballer *1974 - Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-born bassist (System of a Down) *1975 - Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999) * 1975 - Carlos Sastre, Spanish cyclist *1976 - Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer * 1976 - Paul Henderson, Australian soccer player * 1976 - Dan Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player *1977 - Mark van Bommel, Dutch footballer * 1977 - Aaron Fink, American guitarist (Breaking Benjamin) *1978 - Jason Stollsteimer, American singer and lead guitarist (The Von Bondies) * 1978 - Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver *1979 - Daniel Johns, Australian musician (Silverchair) *1980 - Nicolas Douchez, French footballer * 1980 - Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player * 1980 - Courtney Friel, presenter of World Poker Tour *1981 - Ken Dorsey, American football player *1982 - Kaká, Brazilian footballer * 1982 - Tim Hamilton, Slovak adult movie actor *1983 - Matt Jones, American football player *1984 - Michelle Ryan, English actress * 1984 - Amelle Berrabah, British singer (Sugababes) *1986 - Dusan Sakota, Serbian-Greek basketball player Deaths * 296 - Pope Caius * 455 - Petronius Maximus, Roman Emperor * 536 - Pope Agapetus I *1592 - Bartolomeo Ammanati, Italian architect (b. 1511) *1672 - Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish poet (b. 1598) *1699 - Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German statesman (b. 1646) *1758 - Antoine de Jussieu, French naturalist (b. 1686) *1778 - James Hargreaves, English inventor (b. 1720) *1806 - Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (stabbed) (b. 1763) *1833 - Richard Trevithick, English inventor (b. 1771) *1839 - Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784) *1854 - Nicolás Bravo, Mexican politician and soldier (b. 1786) *1892 - Edouard Lalo, French composer (b. 1823) *1896 - Thomas Meik, British civil engineer (b. 1812) *1908 - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1836) *1925 - André Caplet, French composer (b. 1878) *1930 - Jeppe Aakjaer, Danish poet (b. 1866) *1933 - Henry Royce, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1863) *1945 - Käthe Kollwitz, German artist (b. 1867) * 1945 - Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician (b. 1900) *1946 - Harlan F. Stone, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court (b. 1872) * 1946 - Lionel Atwill, English Actor (b. 1885) *1951 - Horace Donisthorpe, British entomologist (b. 1870) *1968 - Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (b. 1911) *1978 - Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902) *1980 - Jane Froman, American actor (b. 1907) * 1980 - Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (b. 1902) *1983 - Earl "Fatha" Hines, American jazz pianist (b. 1903) * 1983 - John Louis Evans, convicted murderer (executed) (b. 1950) *1984 - Ansel Adams, American photographer (b. 1902) *1985 - Paul H. Emmett, American chemical engineer (b. 1900) * 1985 - Jacques Ferron, French Canadian physician, author and politician (b. 1921) *1986 - Mircea Eliade, Romanian writer (b. 1907) *1988 - Irene Rich, American actress (b. 1891) *1994 - Richard Nixon, President of the United States (b. 1913) *1995 - Maggie Kuhn, American activist (b. 1905) *1996 - Erma Bombeck, American humorist (b. 1927) *1998 - Kitch Christie, South African rugby coach (b. 1940) *1999 - Apostolos Nikolaidis, Greek singer (b. 1938) *2002 - Linda Lovelace, American adult actress (b. 1949) *2003 - Martha Griffiths, U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1912) * 2003 - Michael Larrabee, American athlete (b. 1933) * 2003 - Felice Bryant, American songwriter (b. 1925) *2004 - Pat Tillman, American football player and U.S. Army Ranger (killed in action) (b. 1976) * 2004 - Jason L. Dunham, American Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981) *2005 - Philip Morrison, American physicist (b. 1915) * 2005 - Erika Fuchs, German translator (b. 1906) * 2005 - Norman Bird, UK character actor (b. 1920) *2006 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921) *2007 - Juanita Millender-McDonald, congresswoman from southern California (b. 1938) Holidays and observances *Earth Day *Brazil - Discovery Day *April 22 Yom Hazikaron Religious observances *Abel McAedh Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. *Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions *April 22 References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April